On Friday 5 July, Malin Erika Overlade Carmland defends her PhD dissertation entitled "Precision medicine in peripheral neuropathic pain".

A new PhD project from the Danish Pain Research Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University and Department of Neurology, Aarhus University Hospital, has explored the concept of precision medicine in the treatment of peripheral NP. In two randomized placebo controlled trials, we examined predictors of response to two drugs acting on different pathways involved in pain. The hypotheses were that sensory phenotype would predict response to the sodium channel blocker lacosamide and that ability to engage inhibitory pain pathways would predict response to the noradrenalin dopamine reuptake inhibitor bupropion. We used quantitative sensory phenotyping and conditioned pain modulation as surrogates for driving pain mechanism, respectively. Sensory phenotype, as defined by quantitative sensory testing did not predict response to lacosamide. Neither did the efficiency of conditioned pain modulation predict response to bupropion. These results may be impacted by lack of power and limitations of the surrogates used. There were, however, subgroups of patients who responded well to these drugs. It would be of interest to examine other predictors, such as genetics.

The summary is written by the PhD student. 

The defence is public and takes place in auditorium J116-113, Entrance J, Aarhus University Hospital. Please see the press release for more information. 

Contact

PhD student Malin Erika Overlade Carmland
Mail: malin.carmland@clin.au.dk    
Phone: +45 784 63380

Read full press release